


Arose a Phoenix

by larxenethefirefly



Series: Music of Eternity [12]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-17
Updated: 2014-02-17
Packaged: 2018-01-12 21:19:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1201054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/larxenethefirefly/pseuds/larxenethefirefly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's the last day of the Time War. Eight has a decision to make, and he doesn't have to do it alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Arose a Phoenix

**Author's Note:**

> Sequel to Out of the Ashes. Once again, you can pretty much see the bits I didn't like from the special.  
> Edited by Silver

Gallifrey was screaming.The Daleks had breached the sky trenches and the Time Lords were trying to evacuate the city while the battle raged around them. The Citadel had been converted into an emergency shelter while the City burned around it. The dome that had once surrounded the Citadel had fallen not long after the breach, and the families that had once been refugees were now being hunted. The reserve guard, already depleted due to the worsening conditions on the front, were overwhelmed. Since her own troops were still locked in battle in the skies, Rose hadn’t hesitated to join the reserve guard on foot. Already she had killed several Daleks, and when she saw another group cornering several women and children she didn’t hesitate to fire. “Go!” she shouted at the survivors. “Through the sewers. There’ll be signs to guide you.”

They fled, and Rose followed after them as she covered them. Not thirty feet away the Doctor was directing a small band of fighters to attack a group of Daleks that were on the other side of the wall. Rose joined him once the fleeing Time Lords disappeared down into the sewer tunnels.

“You should be with Romana,” he said when she joined him. A nearby explosion shot sparks towards them but Rose didn’t flinch. “The Time Lords are bound to do something stupid and she needs your support.”

Rose raised the laser and aimed. “I was. She sent me down here to tell you that they’re following through on their plan. Rassilon has been resurrected and he’s going to enact the Final Sanction.”

The Doctor stared at her in horror. “That means…”

She looked at him steadily. “Romana says it’s time.”

The wall exploded and they began to fight once more.

~*~

The Moment was rather inconspicuous. A small box that looked a bit like a fancy puzzle box, sitting innocently on a small plinth in a rather empty room. The Doctor approached it cautiously. “What is it?” Rose asked, as she held open the sack. They had about five minutes until the guards would reach them, and about another ten until the TARDIS would be traced and located. Hopefully by that time it would be far, far too late.

“It’s a weapon,” the Doctor replied as he carefully picked it up. “Created a long time ago. Supposedly, it developed a consciousness.”

Rose tied up the bag. “A dangerous thing,” she said, dryly. “It’s all fine and dandy until it can think for itself, then suddenly it’s a threat.”

He gave a tiny smile. “The Time Lords don’t like admitting that there’s something smarter than them.”

They hurried into the TARDIS and they quickly dematerialized, landing on a desert planet that had once been a jungle. It was one of the first casualties of the War. Deep chasms and barren wastelands now resided where there had once been a thriving population of people that had just started to form. Before them was a small hut that had once been a hastily erected supply shed, but was now destitute and nothing but trash remained.

Rose pulled down the tarp that had been covering a cabinet while the Doctor fussed with the Moment. Inside she found stale nutrient bars and a small holo-vid of a woman and child, and she swallowed heavily. “All of this is wrong,” she whispered to herself.

The Doctor laid a hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?” he asked, quietly.

turned and burrowed herself against him. He clung to her tightly. “What was the point?” she demanded. “Why must they be so hateful to cause all this pain? Do they honestly think that being the only things in the universe is going to bring them some form of joy? Because it won’t!”

“They know of no other option,” a voice sounded.

They turned, startled, to see a delicate young girl with pixie-like features and a black bob reclining on the top of the Moment. The Doctor looked like he had seen a ghost. “What do you mean?” Rose asked.

The girl examined her fingernails and shrugged. “They were created to hate anything not Dalek. It’s not their fault, although that doesn’t excuse it.” She looked down at herself. “Hm. Not the form I was expecting, although I can’t argue. Tell me, Doctor, think a blast from the past is appropriate?”

“Susan,” he whispered and Rose tensed slightly.

The girl- Susan, apparently- sniffed. “No, no, I only look like Susan. Much easier to communicate. I simply scanned your memories and chose a figure that you would respond to.”

“You’re the Moment,” Rose said. “You’re the consciousness.”

Susan nodded. “Got it in one. Rather rude of you to shove me in that bag, you know. It stank, and I kept getting knocked around. A girl could get her feelings hurt.”

The Doctor seemed to have recovered, but he kept his grip on Rose. “So what is your purpose then?” He asked. “Are you here to tell me that I shouldn’t use you? That otherwise I wouldn’t have a future?”

Susan arched an eyebrow. “No. I’m here to tell you that you live.” She beamed. “Wanna see?”

~*~

Rose was rather surprised to see her staring at, well, herself.

In front of her was two Doctors, one she vaguely remembered and the other unknown, with another Rose dressed in a rather fancy gown standing behind them and another version of herself talking through a Time Fissure. That Rose, at least, seemed to know what was going on, although she and everyone else looked rather bewildered.

“Lay down your weapons!” someone commanded. Rose looked up to see a red-headed woman dressed in a fancy gown. “Doctor, you are still here.” she said, disapprovingly.

The suited Doctor gave a sheepish smile as his Rose waved cheekily. “Well, yes. But I was never good at following orders.”

She looked at him imperiously. “I am the Queen.”

“I’m not English,” he shrugged.

“Arrest him and his friends,” She ordered to her men.

“That could have gone better,” her Doctor muttered.

Rose watched as the fissure suddenly closed. “Wouldn’t be a proper adventure without being thrown in a dungeon.”

The bow tied Doctor suddenly joined them, looking at his former self critically. “Is that what I really looked like back then? You look like you haven’t slept for weeks!”

“I haven’t,” he replied, shortly.

Rose squeezed his hand. "We've done the best we can." She shot a glance at the bow tied Doctor. "As you should very well know."

He sobered. "Yeah. When are you?"

The suit Doctor piped up wearily. "Does it matter? I'm trying to investigate a possible Zygon threat, and you two had to ruin it!"

"There's three of us!"

"Rose doesn't count," the suited Doctor said with a wave of his hand.

She shared a smile with her future self as the bow tied Doctor tried to formulate a reply. "Well, someone has to keep an eye on you," she replied, sweetly.

Her Doctor tugged her closer. "Defender of the Doctor."

"Bad Wolf," the suited Doctor murmured.

The bow tied Doctor nodded. "The One Who Came Back."

They were shoved unceremoniously into a cell, where the Doctors immediately started arguing about how to escape. The two Roses examined each other, the older Rose sympathetically taking in the torn and tattered white dress, once worn before the High Council and borrowed from Romana, the sturdy vest that had kept her warm during the long nights in the front lines when the Doctor wasn't there beside her, sturdy boots that had carried her through advance, retreat, and all sorts of terrain. "I had forgotten how bad the outfit was. Bit Time War Barbie, but it suited us well enough I suppose."

"Not my typical style, no," she admitted as she fingered one of her holes in her leggings. "Though your own dress doesn't look that comfortable either." She eyed the ruffles and satiny fabric.

Future Rose smiled. "No corset, thankfully. It's a thirtieth century recreation; internal support. Still, I like dress up, and the Doctor certainly appreciates it," she winked.

Rose giggled. "The future isn't bad, then?"

Her older self sobered. "It's not easy," she said, quietly. "What we did... It's not something you forget. But it gets easier."

She nodded. "I know. But we can do anything so long as we're together."

"And you can do more than you think," her future self said. "Remember that. When your darkest day comes, you will survive."

Rose laughed, bitterly, staring at her hands still covered in ashes. "You mean I haven't gotten there already?"

Susan's voice sounded by her ear. "The valiant child will die in battle, but the Woman will rise from the ruins."

"Rose!" the suited Doctor called out, excitedly. "Do you have your sonic?"

They both turned to look at him with identical expressions. "Right," he admitted. "Stupid question."

"What are you planning?" his Rose asked as she handed it over.

He beamed. "Something brilliant that might just get us out of here."

"Not unless bow tie has a setting for wood," Rose muttered.

Her Doctor walked over to her and wrapped an arm around her waist. Though he had always been affectionate, the War had just added more desperation to be with her; it annoyed her sometimes when he still tried tricking her into safety, but she couldn't begrudge him the contact. After all, she too feared that if he left, it would be the last time she saw him. "The plan actually is rather well thought out," he admitted.

Just as they were about to activate their screwdrivers, the door flung open and another Rose and a brunette girl tumbled through. "Miss me?" the oldest Rose said, cheekily, as the bow tied Doctor stared at her in shock.

"How did you open it?!" He asked as he stared accusingly at his screwdriver.

"It wasn't locked," the brunette girl said, shrugging.

"Clara!" The new Rose sighed. "Way to ruin the moment."

Clara crossed her arms. “Seriously. How did you survive for over a thousand years?”

“Luck,” he shrugged, and Rose looked about ready to protest before she finally nodded sheepishly.

"But," the suited Doctor protested. "Why keep it unlocked?"

The Queen strolled into the room. "Because I wanted to see what you would do," she said.

~*~

The Zygons dealt with and now residing in their stasis cubes in the TARDIS, and after running from an enraged Elizabeth when they had accidentally blew up part of her castle and the Queen had found out that the suited Doctor had been engaged to the Zygon Elizabeth, they were discussing their next course of action. Kate was planning with two of her workers, and the future Doctors and their Roses were arguing about how best to dispose of the Zygons. Rose was curled up with her Doctor on one of the couches, enjoying the respite from the fight despite knowing their time was running out.

Clara approached them with a tea tray. "It's odd seeing three of you in one place," she said to Rose, smiling. "I knew you two had some crazy adventures, but I never imagined this."

Rose smiled faintly. "This has happened before. There was seven of me one time, and we kept pretending to be each other to spice things up."

"I knew it," the Doctor said. "Your mind was different."

"Had you fooled for a bit, though," she said, tucking herself closer.

He nodded. "I was, yeah. My seventh self wasn't fooled, of course. Always the perceptive one, that body."

Clara had been watching them with fascination. "How can you be so hopeful still?" she asked. "Knowing what you have to do."

The Doctor looked sad. "Hope is the only thing I have left, Clara. Hope that there is life after death, that I can one day come to terms with what I will do, hope that it will not be in vain."

"But you can change it!" Clara said. "Now that you know what is coming..."

Rose shook her head. "Time cannot be rewritten, Clara. There are consequences."

Susan appeared nearby. "She has a point, you know." She was examining the picture of the girl whose likeness she had taken. "Using your abilities and with the TARDIS, you can prevent the paradox."

Rose ignored her and the Doctor sighed. "I can't. If I don't destroy Gallifrey, then my future is changed. Think about it, Clara. Those two are here because Gallifrey isn't. If I don't use the Moment, the Time Lords will enact the Final Sanction. The entire Universe will burn, and nothing but a void will exist. They won't exist, you wouldn't have been born, and I will have failed." Softly, he continued. "I already have."

Rose looked up at him in concern. "Doctor?"

He stroked her hair. "It's time, Rose."

She nodded, gripping his hand.

"Clara!" the bow tied Doctor called out and she looked away, distracted. By the time she turned around, the couple on the sofa were gone.

~*~

Susan had activated the Moment by the time they arrived and the Doctor stared at it intently. "No going back," he said.

Rose covered his hand with her own. "Two races in exchange for billions of others?" she said, weakly.

He closed his eyes. Gallifrey had become a sort of home to Rose during the War, once the Time Lords had realized they couldn't use the Key like they had wanted without her cooperation. They had had asked the Doctor to do so instead, but after the storm that had grown within him they had quickly dropped it. She was suffering just as much as him, he knew. Despite his unhappy past with the Time Lord elite, he loved his planet, and regretted that he had never taken the opportunity to fix them.

Susan cocked her head at them. "You know what the TARDIS sounds like right?" she asked.

He eyed her suspiciously, but nodded. "Of course."

"That wheezing, groaning sound. That sound brings hope," Susan said gently. "Wherever it goes."

"I like to think it does," the Doctor admitted. Rose squeezed his hand.

Susan smiled. "To anyone who hears it. Anyone, no matter how lost. Even you, Doctor."

The sounds of TARDISes materializing echoed around the room. Seconds later the future Doctors stepped out. "That was rude, leaving without a goodbye," the suited Doctor said. "And you got Kate's couch all dirty."

"Rude," his Rose muttered, then smiled at them both. "We're here so you won't have to do this alone."

"You won't remember until much, much later," the bow tied Doctor said. "But for now, know that you made the right decision."

Clara looked like she was about to argue, but after a look from her Timestream's Rose she stepped back in the TARDIS. "She'll argue later," that Rose sighed.

The image of Susan twirled over. "You certain about this?"

"I don't have any other choice," he said.

Susan smiled slightly. "Look."

Around them, the world dissolved, showing the state of Gallifrey- soldiers dying on the front lines, children huddled as they hid from a group of Daleks, and finally Romana, robes torn and stained and dark hair hanging loose as she fought against Rassilon, still the proud, resilient woman he had known from the very beginning.

And every image showed fire, the shattered hope of his people, the never ending flood of the Dalek fleet.

"The war is lost, Doctor," Susan whispered. "What will you do?"

Finally, an image of Susan herself, his beloved Susan. She had been protected from the War, living in a different Time and place, but they saw the anguish on her face as she stared up at night sky in the direction of Gallifrey. "I'm sorry, Grandfather," she whispered, and Rose heard the Doctor choke back a sob.

"No more," he whispered. "Please, stop."

The images cut off and Susan's image stared at him mournfully. "I'm sorry, but it's time."

Rose covered his hand on the large red ruby, and soon four other hands joined in. "For the Universe," the suited Doctor said.

"For Time," the bow tied Doctor added.

“For those who deserve to live,” Rose’s Doctor said, and she knew he was thinking of Cass.

As one, they pressed the button. There was a bright light, and then… nothing.

~*~

They reconvened in a small room in the museum, the painting of Gallifrey hanging on one wall. The oldest Rose was holding Time in stasis and for this moment they could simply be.

“We can’t stay too long,” she had warned, “but for now, at least, we have this.”

“I’m glad that I still have you,” said the Doctor who was just starting. “You’re the only one who I can’t be without.”

That Rose had smiled softly. “Luckily, you won’t ever have to experience that. Forever is a promise.”

Clara, who had been quiet up till now, finally spoke up. "But you could have changed it!" she exclaimed. "Doctor, Rose, you have been so sad. I've seen how you react whenever Gallifrey is mentioned. How could you not change it?"

"You aren't a creature of Time, Clara," the suited Doctor's Rose said. "I've seen all that is, all that was, all that ever could be. If the Time Lords had survived, they would have destroyed everything."

"It won't get easier," the bow tied Doctor said to his eighth form. "But you will, eventually, forgive yourself."

He nodded. "I'm just beginning, aren't I?"

They all nodded. "Chin up, Love. You have so much to look forward to," the oldest Rose said.

Finally, he nodded. "I won't remember this, but for what it's worth... I'm glad to know that my future is in good hands."

"Bye, Doctor," the suited Doctor said as the youngest Doctor walked wearily to where Rose was waiting for him, his TARDIS waiting for him with a gentle hum.

For the first time since the War started, the Eighth Doctor gave a genuine smile. "Farewell, Doctor. And, Clara… when the new art teacher arrives, you’d do well to take him up on his offer."

The doors closed as his counterparts muttered about showing off and, moments later, they were in the vortex. "The stasis is over," Rose said as she read the symbols on the monitor. "The Moment protected us after all." At the silence, she turned in concern "Doctor...?"

He was staring at his hand, then looked up with a sad smile. "Not quite," he said, as a gold fire began to gather on his skin. "I'm sorry, Rose. Looks like this body has finally reached its end."

Rose smiled slightly. "Love you," she whispered.

"And I love you," he said, before the fires took him.

Hundreds of years into the future, the same man and woman stared at the painting that meant so much. "Do you think there's still a Gallifrey out there, somewhere?"

He shrugged. "Who knows? I don't believe in impossible anymore. Maybe, somewhere, it exists. And if something is remembered..."

"It can come back," Rose finished with a smile.

They stared at the painting for a moment, then as one they turned and left. No matter what the future held, they knew it would be fantastic.


End file.
